Regulations committee approves transfers and repeal; sends several public-health licensing rules back for revision

The Regulations and Administrative Procedures Committee on Thursday approved routine transfers and a repeal tied to last year’s reorganization of the Department of Health and Environmental Control, but sent several Department of Public Health licensing rules back for revision.

The committee voted to transfer health-related rules to a new DPH chapter and to accept a repeal of the athletic-trainer regulation now overseen by the Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation. At the same meeting members asked Department of Public Health staff to withdraw and resubmit proposed amendments for crisis stabilization unit (CSU) licensing, residential treatment facilities for children and adolescents (RTFs) and intermediate care facilities for individuals with intellectual disabilities (ICF/IIDs) so the agency can add requested changes, including clear authority for electronic refrigerator/freezer temperature monitoring and additional child-care provisions.

“This proposed regulation is a result of the passage of Act 60 from 2023 that established two new state agencies, the Department of Public Health and the Department of Environmental Services,” Bentley White of the Department of Public Health told the committee as she explained the transfers required by the statutory split of the former DHEC. The committee approved the transfer motions by voice vote; members said the regulatory text was updated to replace references to DHEC and the DHEC board with the new agency name.

On licensing for crisis stabilization units, Vito Wysevich of the Department of Public Health said the proposed amendments reflect a 2023 statutory change that broadened the age range of patients served. “Pursuant to the State Health Licensure Act, we license and regulate these CSU facilities,” Wysevich said, adding that the statute removed a provision tying CSUs to the Department of Mental Health and lowered the minimum patient age from 18 to 5. He told the committee the department currently has one licensed CSU in North Charleston and a licensure application pending in the Columbia area.

Members pressed staff to make two specific edits before full-committee consideration: clarify protections and operational requirements for children ages 5 and older and explicitly permit digital or automated temperature-monitoring systems in place of daily written fridge/freezer logs. As the committee recapped the requested change, a staff member summarized the requested revision: “digital or automated temperature monitoring systems may be used provided they record continuous temperature data, alert staff of temperature deviations and retain records for compliance review.” The committee voted to withdraw that regulation and have DPH resubmit it to the full committee after amendments.

The committee also discussed proposed amendments to RTF licensing. A Department of Public Health staff member summarized the facilities and the proposed changes, including new or clarified staffing ratios, criminal-conviction standards for employees, reporting requirements, and a new requirement that facilities collect and report objective outcome measures. “And currently, we have 7 licensed RTFs in South Carolina, and they have a total of 419 beds,” the staff member said, noting that the state had 12 RTFs with 647 beds in 2018. Committee members asked the department to add the same electronic temperature-monitoring language requested in the CSU regulation; the committee voted to withdraw and resubmit the RTF regulation to the full committee.

For intermediate care facilities serving people with intellectual disabilities, Department staff outlined statutory alignment work—aligning nursing and medication provisions with changes in the Nurse Practice Act and aligning state licensure with applicable Medicaid and Medicare conditions of participation. The staff said South Carolina currently has 63 licensed ICF/IID facilities (55 with 15 or fewer beds and eight with 16 or more), totaling about 1,561 beds. The committee again asked staff to add the electronic temperature-monitoring language and to resubmit the rule to the full committee for approval.

Separately, the committee approved a proposed repeal of regulation 61-96 governing athletic trainers after the General Assembly transferred authority for that profession to the Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation via 2023 Act 77.

Votes at a glance: Document numbers below refer to the committee agenda items discussed at the meeting. All recorded voice votes were announced by the chair as “ayes have it” unless otherwise noted.

- Doc 5341 — Access to restricted information (Department of Public Health): motion to approve; outcome: approved by committee voice vote. Referenced statutory driver: Act 60 (2023) transfer. (Proposed transfer of existing DHEC rule language to DPH.)

- Doc 5352 — Transfer of DPH regulations to a new chapter and amendments to DHEC references (Department of Public Health): motion to approve; outcome: approved by committee voice vote. (Committee accepted updated agency references and chapter renumbering under Section 14 of Act 60.)

- Doc 5350 — Standards for licensing crisis stabilization unit facilities (Department of Public Health): motion to withdraw and resubmit with requested changes (including explicit authority for electronic temperature monitoring and child-care provisions); outcome: tabled/withdrawn for resubmission to full committee.

- Doc 5342 — Residential treatment facilities for children and adolescents (Department of Public Health): motion to withdraw and resubmit with requested changes (including electronic temperature-monitoring language and other clarifications); outcome: tabled/withdrawn for resubmission to full committee.

- Doc 5344 — Athletic trainers (Department of Public Health): motion to repeal regulation 61-96, reflecting transfer of authority to LLR under 2023 Act 77; outcome: approved by committee voice vote.

- Doc 5347 — Standards for licensing intermediate care facilities for individuals with intellectual disabilities (Department of Public Health): motion to withdraw and resubmit with requested changes (medication-staffing alignment, reporting, and electronic temperature-monitoring language); outcome: tabled/withdrawn for resubmission to full committee.

Committee chair and next steps: Chairman Bradley (chair) closed the meeting after staff confirmed they would make the requested edits and refile the affected regulations for full-committee review. The approved transfers and repeal will proceed as recommended.

Background and why it matters: the actions implement statutory changes from the 2023 legislative session that dissolved DHEC and split its functions between the Department of Public Health and the Department of Environmental Services, and that reassigned certain licensing authority to other agencies. The withdrawn items mainly concern operational and patient-safety details for behavioral-health and disability-service facilities; the committee asked for clearer language on electronic temperature monitoring and protections for younger children before final approval.